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In its broadest sense, private equity is an ownership interest in a company or portion of a company that is not publicly owned, quoted or traded on a stock exchange.
In financial terms, private equity generally refers to equity-related finance designed to bring about positive change in a company, such as:
Because private equity returns are achieved through operational improvements and financial restructuring, the experience and leadership ability of the private equity manager are paramount.
Private equity in a nutshell
Private equity: Comparison to public equity
Generally, investing in private equity involves three phases: